6/10 schools don’t do due diligence of van, rickshaw drivers

A special court recently gave life imprisonment to a school van driver convicted of raping a 5-year-old girl in Vatva. How safe are children who leave safety of home to go to school in a bus, van or rickshaw? A random check by Mirror at 10 Ahmedabad schools reveals alarming picture: most schools fl out norms set by District Education Offi ce to ensure safety and security of kids with impunity. Government authorities are also to be blamed as they fail to act against errant schools.

DEO’s checklist for schoolsPolice verification of bus, auto and van drivers
Medical fitness certificate of the drivers.. Pollution Under Check (PUC)
Registration certificate of the vehicle..

CNG kit warranty of the vehicle..
Driver phone number..
Driving licence..
Vehicle number..
Passport size photo of the driver..
GPS in school bus..
Record of number of students in van/bus/rickshaw

♦ NOT Following All Conditions

St Xavier’s High School LoyolaThe school follows only 4 checks. School keeps information of students commuting by personal vehicles. However, It keeps no details of private vans/rickshaws or their drivers.
It’s parents’ responsibility to check van or rickshaw drivers before hiring them. It is not feasible to maintain record of each vehicle other than private cars.- Father Charles SJ, Principal

Gujarat LawSociety, Law GardenThere are three schools in the GLS campus that follow only 2 out of 11 checks. Student diaries mention vehicle number and driver’s name, signed by parents.
We trust drivers of 10 or 12 vans as they have been ferrying students for several years, some of them more than 12 years. However, we will abide by norms. - Dr B H Joshi, Registrar

Rachana High School, ShahibaugThe school follows only two checks out of 11. School offi cials maintain phone number and copy of the driver’s licence ferrying more than 700 students.
We maintain records of the driver’s license and the vehicle number. Other than that, we have not done other verifications yet. - Gopa Ghosh, Principal

Mount Carmel High School, NavrangpuraThe school follows 2 checks. It keeps record of the driving licence of the van and rickshaw drivers but does not scrutinise their past record.
We have appealed to the parents to be cautious before hiring private vans for their wards. We will now make sure that all drivers are verifi ed by police - Sister Renuka, Principal

HB Kapadia School, ShahibaugThe school does not follow any of the checks, severely compromising safety of kids. Over 500 students attend primary and secondary sections.
It’s responsibility of parents to check driver’s credentials. We don’t keep any record of drivers or vehicles as it is not possible for us to do so. - Bhiku Adroja, Principal

Rajasthan High School, ShahibaugThe school does not follow any of the 11 checks. The school maintains that the onus of making due diligence rests with parents.
Our school has never done police verification or fitness check of school van drivers. It’s responsibility of the parents. We are not aware about DEO’s notification - Reema Sharma, Principal

♦ Following All Conditions

Podar International School, Chandkheda The school follows all the 11 norms laid down in the DEO notifi cation and sets an example for other schools to follow.
We do police verifi cation and psychometric evaluation of the entire staff , especially the non-teaching one such as van drivers. Private vans are also checked on a regular basis - Neelam Varma, Vice Principal

Sakar English School, ChandkhedaThe school follows all the 11 norms laid down in the DEO notifi cation and sets an example for other schools to follow
We have police verifi cation of every staff member and van drivers. We also keep Aadhar details of all drivers and check CNG kit every six months. Students safety is our top priority - Smita Das, Principal

Asia English School, Thaltej The school follows all the norms laid down by the DEO. It carries out mandatory character verifi cation of the all the school van drivers.
We have created a fully verifi ed database of all personnel, private and personal, who play a crucial role in school transportation. Students’ safety is as crucial. - George Fernandes, Principal

St Kabir School, Thaltej The school follows all the norms regarding students’ safety. All the branches of the school maintain record of school van drivers.
All branches of our school keep a proper record of the drivers transporting our students. Besides police verifi -cation, we have also taken School Van Drivers Association into confi dence. - Pragya Pandya, Principal

WHAT OFFICIALS AND PARENTS SAY

Our inspectors visit schools and if they are found flouting norms, we orally ask them to follow rules. School van drivers must be verified by police

R C Patel, District Education Officer

Schools must procure medical certificate and police verification of drivers. Failure to comply can result in cancellation of vehicle permit, driver’s licence

SP Muniya, Road Transport Officer

We mediate between schools and boards. Strict action is mandatory against schools flouting norms, including cancellation of board affiliation

Vikrant Pandey, Collector

We have not checked driver’s background. We live in Naroda where school transport is scarce. I send my daughter in school van

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